Clean Eating Quick and Easy Chicken Curry

Makes 4 Servings
About a week after we arrived in Japan, Matt and I decided to be brave and try something out in town. We hired a babysitter and ventured out onto one of the main roads near our hotel. Everything was still very intimidating because we couldn't speak the language or read any signs and it all felt so alien. But, on the babysitter's suggestion, we found this little hole in the wall place called Nirvana. And inside we had hands down the absolute BEST curry I have ever had in my entire life. So good that I think about asking Matt to bring some home from work at least once every day. Dinner for two is about $30, though, so I knew I was going to have to come up with some way to satisfy my curry craving and limit myself to Nirvana only once or twice a month. This is a super fast and easy curry that you can throw together any old time. We ate it with whole grain naan but you could serve it over rice as well. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or 2 cloves finely chopped)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 big handfuls of spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces

ONE: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown. Add the garlic and salt and cook one minute, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant but not burnt.

TWO: Add in the curry powder, cumin, and ginger and cook one minute, stirring frequently. Add in the coconut milk, tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir vigorously to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

THREE: Add chicken and simmer until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in spinach, cover, and let sit until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.

Freeze leftovers using the medium/large portions method to feed your freezer stash.

Nutrition Info:
Per serving- 332 Calories (173 Calories from Fat), 19g Fat, 13g Saturated Fat, 73mg Cholesterol, 429mg sodium, 14g Total Carbohydrates, 5g Dietary Fiber, 8g Sugars, 28g Protein, 54% DV VitA, 36% DV VitC, 7% DV Calcium, 17% DV Iron.

Cook onions in a bit of olive oil

Once they start to brown, add garlic and spices

Stir in coconut milk, tomatoes, and tomato paste

Add in chicken, cook through, then add spinach

:)

Clean Eating Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

Makes 8-12 servings
Breakfast the tastes like Pumpkin Pie but is actually good for you?! Yup, instant mom of the year award right here :) In the month that it's taken me to post this recipe I've made it three times. I always give my kids a cooked breakfast and most weeks we alternate between Crockpot Overnight Oatmeal and Green Eggs but every now and again I like to throw something different into the mix. This dish smells delicious while it's cooking and really makes you feel like you are having a treat. But it's chock full of Vitamin A and whole grains making it a super way to start your day. I mix up the wet ingredients the night before to save time in the morning and then we eat the leftovers over the next few days so my little bit of effort actually yields 3 or 4 mornings of scrumptiousness. 

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 ripe bananas
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 2 cups uncooked oatmeal (I used rolled oats)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 can pumpkin (make sure it's just pureed pumpkin with nothing random added like sweeteners)
• 1/2 cup sucanat/honey (can use brown sugar but it won't be "clean")
• 2 tsp cinnamon plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, divided (I've used chopped pecans too)

ONE: Spray a 9x13 baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Thinly slice the bananas and spread them over the bottom of the dish. Drizzle with the Tbsp of honey and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place in the oven and preheat to 375. The bananas will soften while the oven heats up.

TWO: Mix the oatmeal with the baking powder and set aside.

THREE: Combine the pumpkin, sucanat, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, milk, eggs, vanilla, almond extract and 1/4 cup of the almonds in a medium bowl. Mix well.

FOUR: Once the oven is preheated, remove the baking dish. Sprinkle the oatmeal mixture evenly over the warm bananas. Pour the pumpkin mixture evenly over the oats and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of nuts. Bake 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown and the pumpkin mixture is firm enough that the middle doesn't jiggle if you shake the pan. You might also see the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cut into 8 or 12 servings (we eat a big breakfast so I always cut ours into 8) and serve warm.

Freeze leftovers using the flash freeze method to feed your freezer stash. Reheat in the microwave or oven.

Nutrition Info:
Per serving when made with almond milk and cut into 8 servings- 225 Calories (77 Calories from Fat), 8.5g Fat, 1.2g Saturated Fat, 41mg Cholesterol, 137mg Sodium, 34g Total Carbohydrates, 6.4g Dietary Fiber, 10.4g Sugars, 6g Protein, 195% DV VitA, 11% DV VitC, 15% DV Calcium, 14% DV Iron

Per serving when made with almond milk and cut into 12 servings- 150 Calories (51 Calories from Fat), 5.5g Fat, 0.8g Saturated Fat, 27mg Cholesterol, 93mg Sodium, 22.5g Total Carbohydrates, 4g Dietary Fiber, 7g Sugars, 4g Protein, 130% DV VitA, 7% DV VitC, 10% DV Calcium, 9% DV Iron

Spread sliced bananas in the bottom of the pan, drizzle with honey, and sprinkle with cinnamon

Roast bananas in the oven while it preheats and you combine the other ingredients

Sprinkle oatmeal mixture over bananas

Mix together pumpkin, spices, milk, eggs, 1/4 cup nuts, and sucanat 

Pour pumpkin mixture over oatmeal mixture

Sprinkle with remaining nuts

Bake 30-35 minutes until set, slice and serve

Hang out with your super cute kiddos while it's cooking :)

:)